Lily Valley shifted her backpack as she walked to school one sunny morning. Her best friends, Roseluck and Daisy Wishes, were walking on either side of her.
"I'm just saying, the makeup Rose Heart picks out is worthy of the horrors," Lily explained. "I'm no fashion expert like you, Rose, but Rose Heart was definitely half asleep when she picked out blue eyeliner." Daisy and Rose giggled.
"I have to admit, she did look at little off yesterday," Rose added. "Her clothes were rumpled and I saw some zits on her face!"
"Oh no!" Daisy teased. "She really needs help!"
"It's not like she'd accept the offer, anyway," Lily answered. "I think- Aaaah! The horror! The horror!"
"What is it?" Rose and Daisy asked in unison, stepping closer to see what was wrong.
"It's, it's- that!" Lily threw an accusatory finger at a mud puddle on the sidewalk. "It's just terrible!" Daisy groaned.
"Um, Lily?" Rose asked. "I know you tend to overreact to stuff, but don't you think a mud puddle is a little much?"
"Little much?" Lily grabbed Rose by her pink rose-patterned shirt. "Little much? Roseluck, that puddle could have killed us! Or, even worse, ruined our outfits!"
"Rose, I think we need to get her to a psychiatrist," Daisy whispered.
"Lily, relax," Rose told her as she gently pried Lily's fingers off her shirt. "Everything will be fine."
"Breathe," Daisy added, demonstrating the motion herself. Lily copied the act. She inhaled, held it for two seconds, then let the air out of her lungs.
"Better?" Rose asked.
"Better," Lily answered, smiling.
"So, why don't you continue your story about Rose Heart's makeup?" Daisy asked, stepping onto someone's yard to avoid the puddle.
"Right!" Lily giggled. "So, I think if she picked just the ride shade of turquoise, Rose Heart'd look better..." As the Flower Trio continued their walk to CHS, Lily continued talking about makeup, despite the fact she knew next to nothing about the subject.
Soon, Canterlot High came into view. Lily always wondered why there were three levels to the school. She had only ever been on the first one.
"Well, I think Cloudy Kicks should wear her eyeshadow more often," Rose mentioned. "And she could use some flower perfume, too, after all her soccer. I'm thinking marigolds."
"That's a great idea, Rose!" Lily exclaimed, turning to face her friends. As she did, her foot slipped on the wet pavement.
"Aaah!" She cried, falling backwards.
"Lily!" Daisy lunged for her. She wasn't quick enough. Lily fell...
But she didn't feel anything. Lily only saw a multitude of colors before her friends disappeared from view.
"THE HORROR!" Lily shrieked as she felt her body being pulled in any direction.
Rose and Daisy stared at the spot were Lily had disappeared. She had slipped through the statue like it had been a pool.
"Daisy?" Rose asked, panic edging into her voice. "What do we do now?" Daisy's left eye twitched.
"We panic!" She shouted. "The horror!"
"Lily's gone!" Rose gasped.
Half a world away, Lily Valley rubbed her head.
"W-what just happened?" She asked wearily, expecting no answer and receiving no answer.
"Wait a minute..." Lily's gaze traveled to a round, hairy, pink thing. She tried to move her hand to touch it. The thing moved instead. Lily screamed.
"The horror! The horror!" She shrieked, scrambling around on the ground, trying to get away from the inescapable hoof. "I'm a pooooooony!" Lily stood up as best she could.
"How do I get back?" She muttered. "There must be some way!" Unfortunately, there was nothing useful in the room. Just some bookshelves and a mirror. Lily spotted a staircase on the other side of the room. She stumbled over to it on her ugly hooves.
"Can anybody help me?" Lily called down. There was no response.
"What do I do now?" Lily asked herself. Her new pony ears flattened against her head.
"I can't be stuck as a pony forever!" Lily wailed, running down the stairs as fast as she could. "There has to be someone I can talk to! Someone who can help me!
"Hello?" Lily called again. Still, she received no response. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Maybe she would never get home!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Lily sobbed, plopping down on the glassy steps. "This is horrible!"
"What the heck?" Lily halted her crying to sniffles when a small purple face appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Aren't you Lily?"
"Y-yeah," Lily responded. "I fell through a portal and now I wanna go home!" Tears starting welling up in her eyes. "Everybody things I overreact but I don't I'm really scared and there's no way back and you have to help me get home to my friends!" Realization dawned on the little figure, which, Lily realized, was a dragon.
"It's alright," he comforted her, walking up the stairs. "It's not the hard to get back where you came from."
"You're just lucky Twilight isn't home," he added, chuckling. "She would freak out!"
"Twilight?" Lily asked, drying her tears. "Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of the Fall Formal?"
"The one and only!" The dragon proclaimed. "And I'm Spike. I was a dog in your world."
"Nice to meet you, Spike," Lily answered, smiling slightly. "Can you help me get home?"
"Sure!" Spike responded. "The portal's just up here!" Lily followed her little guide back up the stairs to the room she had first been in.
"That's the portal!" Spike pointed to the mirror Lily had noticed earlier.
"Wow, really?" Lily asked, sticking a hoof through it. "I thought it would look more... portal-ly. Swirling vortex of doomish?"
"Nope!" Spike laughed. "Well, Lily, just step through and you'll be on your way!"
"Oh, thank you so much, Spike!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her hooves around him. "I can't wait to meet my friends again!"
"Aw, it was no big deal." Spike scratched the back of his head. "By the way, you should try to work on your overreacting."
"I'll try," Lily promised. She turned to face the portal. "Bye, Spike!"
"Bye!" Spike responded just as Lily walked through the portal.
Lily tried not to shriek as she felt her body morph back into human form. She had promised Spike to overreact less, after all. After several seconds, Lily could see the end of the ride.
"Lily!" Daisy and Rose exclaimed when she flew out.
"Are you alright?" Daisy asked, hurrying over to Lily.
"We had no idea what to do!" Rose added, taking Lily's hand. "What happened?" Lily smoothed off her ivory skirt and smiled at her friends.
"I became a pony!" She exclaimed simply.